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DENVER, Colo. – No. 4 seed North Dakota State dropped the first set and then had to rally from an eight-point deficit in the second to defeat No. 5 seed Omaha 3-1 (21-25, 31-29, 25-15, 25-19) in a Summit League Volleyball Tournament Quarterfinal match played Friday, Nov. 17, before 234 fans in Denver's Hamilton Gymnasium.
 
North Dakota State (19-8) advances to the Summit League Volleyball Tournament semifinals against top-seed and host Denver (21-5) at 4 p.m. CT Saturday, Nov. 18. The Bison will play in the semifinals for the ninth time in program history and improved to 10-6 in tournament play. No. 3 seed South Dakota defeated No. 6 seed Fort Wayne 3-1 in the second quarterfinal. USD (17-10) plays Oral Roberts (14-12) in the second semifinal at 7 p.m. CT Saturday.
 
NDSU had won both meetings against Omaha in the regular season, but that didn't matter to Omaha (10-18). The Mavericks picked up the pace in the first set and then bolted out to a 19-11 lead on a Sydney O'Shaughnessy kill in the second to force a timeout.
 
However, the Bison stayed the course and gradually whittle away at the Omaha lead. A five-point run highlighted by a pair of kills from Allie Mauch, along with one each from Brianna Rasmusson and McKenzie Burke, cut the deficit to 19-16.
 
The NDSU momentum continued to build and the Bison fought back to tie Omaha 22-all on kills from Erika Gelzinyte and Rasmusson.
 
The score would be tied eight times after that with set point on the line six times, three each for Omaha and NDSU. The Bison cashed in on a pair of hitting errors before Jessica Jorgensen drilled a shot down the middle for the 31-29 win.
 
North Dakota State rolled after that, hitting .306 in the third set, and outhitting Omaha .229 to .079 in the fourth to close out the come from behind win. The Bison hit .198 overall compared to .123 for the Mavericks.
 
Rasmusson recorded a rare 'triple-double' with 36 assists, 12 digs and 10 kills. She hit .526 overall and added three blocks.
 
Burke rattled off 13 kills and came up with 13 digs to complete the 'double-double', while Jorgensen connected for 12 kills and hit .370.
 
NDSU held a 10-9 advantage led by Bella Lien's match-high seven blocks. Mikaela Purnell pocketed 28 digs to reach 25-plus digs for the 10th time this season and 21st time in her career. Abbi Klos had 15 digs and career best seven assists.
 
Gessica Gdowski led Omaha with 12 kills and 11 digs. O'Shaugnessy had 36 assists, 20 digs and six kills, while MacKenzie Horkey finished with nine kills and 14 digs. Anna Blaschko claimed six blocks.